The Heart of the Matter
by black-rose91
Summary: Scott and Jean are sixteen; they have never met each other before. Scott lives in Paris with Dr McCoy and Ororo. When Charles and Beast finally meet to discuss something and if Charles brings Jean along, what would happen?


**Chapter 1**

Jean Grey, aged sixteen, heaved a sigh as she entered her house._ Finally, _she thought,_ the holidays are here...but what shall I do?_

She climbed up the stairs leading to her room, as she opened the door, a voice welcomed her:

"Hello Jean!"

"Uncle Charles! Whoa! You surprised me!"

"I'm sorry my dear child, I heard you come in...So how was you day at school?" said Uncle Charles, he was working on her computer, he had told her that he was keeping in contact with a scientist friend of his about some important matters, what important matters Jean never knew.

He had lived with Jean and her parents for the last few years as a mentor to Jean, helping her control her 'gifts' as he called it. Jean had felt it was more of a curse, Jean was a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers, when they had manifested, is was quite impossible for her to control. But now, as she learned to control them, she felt that they were a kind of gift, especially when she felt quite lazy.

"What are you doing Uncle?" she asked curiously, ignoring her Uncle's question.

"Jean, can you give me an hour to complete my work, then, I shall explain it to you, I think you may be interested," he replied. He was an old man with not even a single hair on his head. Uncle Charles was an invalid, he moved in a mechanical wheelchair.

"Okay," said Jean. "I'll be downstairs is you want me."

"Thank you Jean," he said without turning from the screen of the computer.

Jean made herself some lemonade and settled herself in a cozy armchair by the window. Her parents were not back from work yet and her younger sister, Sarah, who was fourteen was sent off to a snobbish private school.

She glanced out of the window, the sun was setting and the blue sky was tinged with a reddish pink colour, which was slowly disappearing. Memories came flooding into mind. Jean remembered the time when she and Annie had just become friends. They were about seven or eight years old. They lived in the same neighborhood but went to different schools, so everyday, they'd go out and meet each other and talked and played to their heart's content. They soon became best friends.

And then, when they were around ten years old, Annie died and that was when her powers manifested. Annie was crossing the street when a car, which was above the speed limit, crashed into her. The driver didn't stop, but drove away even faster.

Jean was horrified at the sight, which met her eyes; she rushed to Annie's aid. Jean was traumatized, the mixture of emotions she felt, fear, grief, hope and most of all confusion. She felt so confused because she could feel emotions and thoughts, which weren't here own, she felt that they belonged to Annie. She was so afraid of what might be happening to her and her best friend.

As Annie breathed her last Jean fainted. When she regained consciousness, she was in a small hospital and slowly people's thoughts came flooding into her mind. It was so much for her mind to take in, to control...It began to take over her...She couldn't control herself. Jean began experiencing the pain around her. Clutching her head she screamed in agony, things near her slowly began to shake, they were momentarily floating in air. It was all too much for her...

Jean fell into a coma and a moment before, she had heard her parents thought's, she recognized them for they were familiar voices. Her mother was asking herself if her daughter was a freak of nature...She was thinking of what the people would say...Jean had always thought she and her mother never got along very well, even at the young age of ten, and now she saw the difference between them.

Jean's father on the other hand, was afraid of what was happening to his little daughter, she could feel his love for her.

Jean was comatose for almost a year before news reached her Uncle Charles about her "problem". Until she was fourteen, her Uncle had shielded her mind from her powers. As she grew, she learnt to control her powers with the guidance of her Uncle.

Her powers had saved her from her parents sending her to one of those snobbish schools to Sarah now went.

Once when Jean's parents had been out for the night she was on her way to the kitchen for a midnight snack, she sensed an unfamiliar presence. Just then the front door opened and in entered a short, stocky man, who looked scary and menacing.

"Who're you?" asked Jean. She was scared at first, but then she realized she had "special gifts" and she could use them if he was a burglar.

"Huh?! Where's the Professor kid?!" the man asked.

"Professor?" Jean was surprised; she said, "There's no Professor here. Anyway, who are you?"

'Jean!' Uncle Charles' voice rang through the room. 'Bring the man up to my room, he is my friend' 

"C'mon!" she said addressing the man. Jean took him to her Uncle.

"You know, you're lucky my parents are out tonight, I don't think they'd like you very much, especially my mother." Jean told him.

"Kid, the Professor called me here tonight because your parents are out," replied Logan, smiling.

"Oh!"

Returning his smile, she knocked on her Uncle's bedroom door. When a voice said "Come in", she opened the door.

Uncle Charles looked at the man with friendly smile and said, "Nice to see you again Logan".

"Likewise Charles, who's the kid?"

"Jean, this is Logan, a friend of mine and Logan, this is my niece, Jean." replied Uncle Charles.

"So this is your _niece_, eh Chuck?"

That was her first meeting with Logan. She liked him very much after their introduction.

Jean had felt ever so lonely since her powers manifested, she was in a hospital for a year and her classmates thought that she was some sort of a mentally ill person. In those times she felt very lonely, she considered books to be her only friends. But Uncle Charles would help a lot, with her powers and through the times when she was depressed. And whenever Logan visited, she felt good talking to him.

High school, Jean thought, was slightly better because she could at least talk to people and make some friends, but nobody knew the real Jean, the person she was behind all that beauty and perfection.

Jean had fallen asleep by the window, thinking of her life.

So how was it? Do I need to lengthen the chapter even more? How was my introduction of Charles?


End file.
